Good Breast, Bad Breast: Integrating Psychoanalytic Theory with Maternal Practice

Abstract

Investigating physical experiences in order to understand the psyche is a cornerstone of early psychoanalysis. In describing the infant’s first year, Klein emphasized the emotional aspects of both mother and infant but neglected the physical aspects of the act of nursing. My re-reading of Klein’s concept of the splitting of the “good breast” and the “bad breast” is based on my survey of breastfeeding mothers’ descriptions, as well as information provided in breastfeeding guidebooks. Both claim that infants prefer one (good) breast while rejecting the other (bad) breast. Presenting the actual experiences of breastfeeding mothers, I argue for an interpersonalization of Klein’s theory, and claim that states of consciousness identified with the paranoid-schizoid position operate during breastfeeding in both mother and infant. Implications for psychotherapeutic treatment are discussed by linking the good/bad metaphor to actual nursing experiences.

Keywords:

• breastfeeding
• Klein
• motherhood
• nursing
• splitting

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ In this paper, I will focus on the specific dynamics involved in the maternal breastfeeding of the infant because of its prominent physical aspects while also acknowledging that similar interpersonal dynamics exist when the baby is bottle-fed. As space does not allow, I will not expand on these ideas here nor on the potential implications of gender dynamics within the interaction, but I would like to acknowledge that the complexity of infant feeding and its accompanying interpersonal processes may be different but nevertheless exist between parent and child when a baby is bottle-fed.

² From “Damn it, I failed to breastfeed once again,” by Lily Sherazky Almaliach. http://www.mako.co.il/ninemonth-birth/breast-feeding/Article-a44262f54d1e831006.htm.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shir Bar Emet

Shir Bar Emet, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and lecturer at Haifa University and the Levinsky College of Education. She is also a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in private practice.